MUZAFFARGARH, Jan 5: Hundreds of farmers blocked Jhang and Dera Ghazi Khan roads here on Monday and tried to loot some Rawalpindi-bound trucks laden with urea bags in what was the sixth bigger demonstration to protest the dearth of fertilizer gripping the district and the country as a whole for the past several weeks.

A large number of potential buyers were present at Jhang Morr when they saw seven truckloads of urea ostensibly heading towards Rawalpindi but allegedly smuggling the fertilizer to Afghanistan. Seeing such a huge quantity of the most sought-after product being trucked through their city, the farmers suddenly became angry. They later blocked the roads and tried to loot the trucks but, in the meantime, the police rushed to the scene and spoiled their effort.

Later, the police contingent headed by City DSP Qayyum Nawaz Qaisrani made the demonstrators lift the blockade and persuaded them to reach the offices of agriculture district officer or the district coordination officer instead to get their grievance removed.

Talking to Dawn, the infuriated farmers said that they were not being sold urea despite they had paid the price consideration to the agriculture department in advance.

Khalil Kalroo, who is also an advocate, said that he had deposited the price of 32 urea bags in lieu of receipt issued by the agricultural officials and the manager of local utility store three days ago but he was still waiting for the delivery.

Sabir Husain, of Mahmood Kot, said he had deposited the money to buy 10 bags two days ago but did not get anything in return. He asked as to why the officials of agriculture department collected money from intending buyers if they did not have enough stocks of the product.

Shahnawaz Rodni was yet another farmer protesting the indifference of the agriculture department after bagging huge sums of money from poor cultivators.

They also alleged that the police had persuaded them not to lodge a protest on Saturday and assured that they would be provided urea on Sunday or Monday but it did not happen and this indeed led them to demonstrate.

Agriculture DO Jamshed Sindhu said the urea shortage had led even his subordinates to abandon performing duties at their offices on Saturday and Monday and proceed on strike instead. He said that the officials, being small farmers too, demanded urea bags for their own consumption but, on his refusal, they went on strike.

He said that the officials had every right to purchase urea like all other cultivators of the district, but not even a single granule of urea was available with the department to fulfill their demands.

He said that he had written several letters to his superiors to make the deficiency up, but the effort did not bear fruit.

Another official of the agriculture department said that MNAs and MPAs were pressing him to satisfy their ‘recommendations’, but, owing to an acute dearth of the fertilizer, he was absolutely unable to do the ‘needful’.